Politics of Liberia takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic modeled on the government of the United States, whereby the President is the head of state and head of government; unlike the United States, however, Liberia is a unitary state as opposed to a federation and has a pluriform multi-party system rather than the two-party system that characterizes US politics. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the legislature.
Samuel Kanyon Doe was a Liberian politician who served as the Liberian leader from 1980 to 1990, first as a military leader and later as a politician. Then Master Sergeant Doe served as chairman of the People's Redemption Council and de facto head of state after staging a violent coup d'etat in 1980; he killed President William R. Tolbert, Jr., and executed much of the True Whig Party leadership. Samuel Doe in turn was murdered by his conqueror, Prince Johnson, one time ally of Charles Taylor, in an internationally televised display.
The President of the Republic of Liberia is the head of state and government of Liberia. The president serves as the leader of the executive branch and as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia.
William Richard Tolbert Jr. was the 20th President of Liberia from 1971 until 1980, when he was killed in a coup d'état led by Samuel Doe.
The 2005 Liberian general election was held on 11 October 2005, with a runoff election for the presidency held on 8 November of that year. The presidency, as well as all seats in the House of Representatives and Senate were up for election. The election marked the end of the political transition following Liberia's second civil war and had been stipulated in the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2003. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former World Bank employee and Liberian finance minister, won the presidential contest and became the first democratically elected female African head of state in January 2006.
The Unity Party (UP) is a political party in Liberia that was started in 1984 by Edward B. Kesselly, also its first standard bearer. Officially founded at Buchanan in Grand Bassa County, the party was established on 27 July 1985. The Unity Party participated in the first elections after the 1980 coup, running against President Samuel Doe in October 1985. The party has remained active in Liberian politics since and was, until 2017, the ruling party.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th President of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa.
Togba-Nah Tipoteh is an economist, educator and politician, having been a presidential candidate in three elections. For more than three decades, he has been actively involved with democratic activities in promotion of human rights, liberties, constitutional rule and growth with development in Liberia and throughout Africa. He is President of the Movement for Justice in Africa (MOJA); was founding Chairman of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), an alliance of Liberian political parties; was founder and Director-General of Susukuu Incorporated, Liberia's oldest non-governmental development organization, which was credited by the West Africa Peacekeeping Force (ECOMOG) as helping to disarm over 10,000 combatants and child soldiers in Liberia during the 1997 disarmament program through a school for gun program; and was former Chairman of the Interest Groups of Liberia, a consortium of 32 national organizations with a collective membership of well over one million persons. He has worked in international development in the United States, the Netherlands, Mozambique, Ghana, South Africa and other countries, as well as for the United Nations system: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), International Monetary Fund (IMF), African Economic Community (ECA) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), among others.
Joseph Nyumah Boakai Sr. is a Liberian politician who served as Vice President of Liberia from 2006 to 2018, serving under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Previously he was Minister of Agriculture from 1983 to 1985.
George W. Wallace Jr. was the foreign minister of Liberia from 2006 to 2007. He took office early in 2006, having been appointed to the cabinet of the incoming president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and confirmed by the Senate. Wallace has had a long career as a Liberian diplomat and ambassador through all of its governments during the past several decades. In a cabinet reshuffle on August 22, 2007, he was replaced as foreign minister by Olubanka King Akerele and became special adviser to President Johnson Sirleaf instead.
Charles Cecil Dennis was a Liberian political figure who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs under President William Tolbert from 1973 until the coup d'état by Samuel Doe on April 12, 1980. Along with other members of Tolbert's Cabinet, he was promptly put on trial and executed by firing squad ten days after the coup.
Dr. Harry Fumba Moniba was a politician in Liberia hailing from the northwestern county of Lofa. He was the vice-president of Liberia from 1984 to September 1990 under the banner of the National Democratic Party of Liberia and ran for president in 1997. He planned to run in the 2005 Liberian presidential election but was killed in a 2-car accident in Michigan on 24 November 2004. He was afforded one of the largest state funerals in Liberian history. He left behind his wife Minita, and their five children. His burial site was contested with several groups of Liberians threatening violence were he not buried in his home county, while others advocated his burial on the grounds of the national gravesite. His family decided to place his remains in the compound of their suburban Monrovia home. Two funerals were held in honor of Dr. Moniba: one in the United States and one in his home country of Liberia. At the U.S. funeral, Dr. Moniba's widow (Minita) was presented with the United States flag by Congressman Nick Smith. The flag had been flown at half mast over the U.S Capitol, making him the only Liberian in history to receive such an honor. The Congressman stated, "Dr. Moniba loved his country, and worked tirelessly to establish peace and prosperity for Liberia. He understood well the true role of a politician in a democratic society." A room was dedicated in Dr. Moniba's honor at the Liberian Embassy in Washington D.C. in February 2007. He also has a primary school named in his honor in Monrovia, Liberia.
Henry Boimah Fahnbulleh is a Liberian politician and diplomat. He is the Liberian Government's current National Security Advisor in the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf administration. Immediately previous to his appointment as National Security Advisor, he served as Advisor on International Affairs in the same government. He served as Foreign Minister from 1981 to 1983 under President Samuel Doe.
Brownie Jeffery Samukai Jr. is the former Minister of National Defence of Liberia. He took office on January 16, 2006, as part of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's Cabinet.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government ministry of Liberia responsible for directing Liberia's external relations and the management of its international diplomatic missions. The ministry is located in Monrovia, Liberia's capital.
Mary Tanyonoh Broh is the former mayor of Monrovia, the capital city of Liberia. She first served the Liberian government in March 2006 as the Special Projects Coordinator for President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's executive staff. In 2007, she was promoted to direct the Passport Bureau in a successful attempt to curtail and eliminate corruption and bribery within the division. In 2008, Broh became the Deputy Director of the National Port Authority. In February 2009, she was selected to serve as Acting Mayor of Monrovia in place of the previous mayor, Ophelia Hoff Saytumah, in the President's effort to legitimize the Monrovia City Corporation's (MCC) administrative and financial management. Although Broh was seated in February 2009 by appointment, rather than by the usual democratic election process, she was not officially confirmed by the Liberian Senate.
The Liberia Telecommunications Corporation (Libtelco) is a telecommunications company providing services in Liberia. Headquartered in Monrovia, the company provides telephone, Internet, fax and radio services to the Greater Monrovia area. Prior to the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 2007, Libtelco possessed a legal monopoly over the country's fixed line services, and today remains the sole company licensed by the Liberia Telecommunications Authority to provide fixed line telephone services.
The 1980 Liberian coup d'état happened on April 12, 1980, when President William Tolbert was overthrown and murdered in a violent coup. The coup was staged by an indigenous Liberian faction of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) under the command of Master Sergeant Samuel Doe. Following a period of transition Doe would go on to rule the country throughout the 1980s until his murder on 9 September 1990 during the First Liberian Civil War.
Edison Reginald “Reggie” Townsend was a Liberian journalist and statesman known for the establishment of Liberia’s Information Services. He served as Secretary of Information and Cultural Affairs under President William V. S. Tubman, and as Minister of State for Presidential Affairs under President William R. Tolbert. In 1979 he was elected National Chairman of the True Whig Party. Following the 1980 Liberian coup d'état of President Tolbert on April 12, 1980, he and several other members of the Tolbert administration were put on trial and without due process executed by firing squad on April 22, 1980.
Gbehzohngar Milton Findley is a Liberian Cabinet-Level government official, former President Pro-Tempore of the Liberian Senate and a business executive. Findley is the current Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Liberia in the administration of President George Weah. He is the owner of a coffee and cocoa bean farm and produce packing company in Liberia which exports to Europe. Findley received primary education in Liberia and advanced degrees at Lund University in Sweden and Franklin University in the United States.
